24/7 Wall St. » KMX

Top Analyst Downgrades and Stocks to Sell: CarMax, CME, Coach and More

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:35:17 +0000

Investors often get to see the various analyst upgrades and Buy ratings issued by Wall Street firms. What investors often do not get to see is when analyst downgrade stocks to sell or to avoid. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls each and every day to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks, and we have broken out the negative analyst calls today. These are this Tuesday’s top analyst downgrades and cautious research notes from Wall Street.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Stern Agee.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.

Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) was cut to Underperform from Outperform at CLSA.

Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Stern Agee.

V.F. Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Wellcare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE: WCG) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls Tagged: BZH, CCL, CME, COH, DB, KMX, LIFE, OIS, VFC, WCG

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 10, 2013: Markets Set New Highs Again (ARO, HLF, IBM, IEP, THC, PSMT, KMX, STZ, FDO, JKS, TITN, ADTN, BBBY, NG, PIR, LEDS, FSLR, ABX, NOK)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:04:26 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and both the DJIA and the S&P 500 climbed to new intra-day highs (more coverage here). The Fed mistakenly released FOMC minutes early to some Congressional staffers this morning, so the minutes were released to all before markets opened, helping to stoke today’s buying (more coverage here). In Asia, China posted a surprise trade deficit, entirely due to a 14% increase in imports. In Europe, industrial production increased in France, but dropped in Spain and Italy by more than expected. The “troika” has proposed to extend bailout loans to Ireland and Portugal by seven years. In the U.S., mortgage applications rose (more coverage here) and the Treasury’s auction of $21 billion in 10-year notes saw weaker demand as equities ruled today.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.24% today, now at 82.513. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.8% at 637.09. WTI crude oil closed up 0.5% today, at $94.64 a barrel, following an inventory report that showed a smaller-than-forecast build in stockpiles (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.5% at $105.87 a barrel. Natural gas is up 1.8% today at about $4.12 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.8% today at $1,558.80 an ounce, its largest one day drop since November.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 127 points to 14,800.78 (0.87%), the NASDAQ rose more than 59 points (1.83%) to 3,297.25, and the S&P 500 rose 1.22% or about 20 points to 1,587.71.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) cut to ‘sell’ with price target of $10 at Goldman Sachs; Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) cut to ‘neutral’ at D.A. Davidson; International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ: IEP) started as ‘buy’ with a price target of $66 at Jefferies; and Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) is up 5.7% at $84.77; Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is up 3.7% at $43.22 after posting a new 52-week high of $43.42 earlier today; Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) is up 0.4% at $48.83; Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) is up 1% at $60.40 (more coverage here); Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is down 9% at $5.28; and Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) is down 13.9% at $22.48.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSEMKT: NG), Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR), and SemiLEDS Corp. (NASDAQ: LEDS).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down 7.3% at $36.49. The solar panel maker is giving back some of its 45%+ gain from yesterday. More coverage here.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down 8.7% at $24.38 after posting a new 52-week low of $24.30 earlier today. The gold miner is being slammed following a court decision that will suspend operations at its new Chilean mine.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 4.5% at $3.52. The mobile phone maker had no news today, but the company said earlier this week that it is launching a new phone with T-Mobile USA in May.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Retailers will be reporting same-store sales for March throughout the day. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Import and export prices
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year note auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, ADTN, ARO, BBBY, FDO, FSLR, HLF, IBM, IEP, JKS, KMX, LEDS, NG, NOK, PIR, PSMT, STZ, THC, TITN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 9, 2013: Markets Open Higher, Edge Up All Day (AA, AAPL, LGF, FRC, BAC, SSYS, PSMT, KMX, STZ, FDO, JKS, TITN, FSLR, JCP, VALE, FCX, CLF)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:05:23 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened a bit higher this morning following a middling earnings report from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) last night (more coverage here). Economic data was minimal in the U.S., but in Asia China reported that its consumer price index rose 2.1%, somewhat lower than expected and its producer price index fell 1.9%, a bit more than expected (more coverage here). In Europe, Germany reported a larger-than-expected trade surplus, but both France and the U.K. reported higher-than-expected deficits. In the U.S., the report on wholesale trade was mixed, with sales up 1.7% and inventories down 0.3% (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.51% today, now at 82.321. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.7% at 632.31. WTI crude oil closed up 0.9% today, at $94.20 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 1.7% at $106.44 a barrel, following reports of an earthquake in Iran (more coverage here). Natural gas is down 1.4% today at about $4.03 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 0.9% today at $1,586.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 60 points to 14,673.46 (0.41%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 16 points (0.48%) to 3,237.86, and the S&P 500 rose 0.35% or more than 5 points to 1,568.59.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) maintained as ‘outperform’ with a price target of $600 at Credit Suisse; Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) started as ‘buy’ with a price target of $31 at Argus; First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) started on “Conviction Buy” list with a price target of $47 at Goldman Sachs; Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) maintained as ‘hold’ at Argus; and Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) started as ‘buy’ with a price target of $84 at Canaccord Genuity.

The only earnings results of note since last night came from Alcoa, which we’ve already noted. Shares are trading up 0.4% at $8.42.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT), Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ), Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), and Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is up 46.9% at $39.71 after posting a new 52-week high of $41.00 earlier today. The solar panel maker guided 2013 revenues and earnings above estimates and shares soared, pulling other solar stocks along for the ride. More coverage here.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 12.2% at $13.93 after posting a new 52-week low of $13.90 earlier today. The department store retailer fired its CEO last night. More coverage here and here.

Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) is up 5.6% at $18.38. The world’s largest iron ore miner received an upgrade today and is expected to benefit from a proposed change in Brazilian tax law. Other basic materials stocks also posted gains today, including Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF).

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association weekly purchase applications
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction
2:00 p.m. – FOMC minutes
2:00 p.m. – U.S. Treasury budget

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AA, AAPL, BAC, CLF, FCX, FDO, FRC, FSLR, JCP, JKS, KMX, LGF, PSMT, SSYS, STZ, TITN, VALE

Earnings Season Kickoff: Calendar and Previews for the Week Ahead

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:12:47 +0000

It is hard to believe already, but another earnings season is coming upon us. With both the DJIA and the S&P 500 up 10% or more in the first quarter, the trend of major companies meeting and guiding within expectations is not likely going to create a large rush into stocks. So far, that is about all that the investing community is expecting. That will create a story of individual companies and individual sectors worth your money rather than investing in the broader market if things play out that way.

24/7 Wall St. has created a brief calendar of the major earnings announcements by day. Estimates have come from Thomson Reuters, although we would quickly point out that estimates may change at any time and may have likely changed marginally by the time mid-week gets here. We have also provided color on each.

This week we saw three of our ten suppositions come up which were in our Ten Things That Could Wreck The Bull Market. We also issued a quarter-end piece that was intended to act as the Blueprint for the Bull Market In April as well. Lastly, here are our DJIA dividend hike predictions for April as earnings season kicks off.

One thing needs to be addressed and this has not yet been covered enough by much of the financial press. The strength of the U.S. dollar will impact US exports and that will be something that companies either address that came up of late or which will impact earnings in the second quarter outlook.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) will be the first of the DJIA components to report earnings for the first quarter of 2013. Investors always try to use this as a barometer but we would warn against putting so much faith in “The Alcoa Indicator” because the company is troubled and in a hard industry to boot. Look for Alcoa to maintain that the aluminum industry will still be double by the end of this decade. Estimates are $0.10 EPS and a 1.2% drop in revenue to $5.93 billion. Alcoa used to say “You Make The Call” on commercials, but now it simply asks “What Bull Market?” because its stock is down about 5% so far in 2013.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) is set to report on Wednesday and this stock has tried to recover from its past earnings blunders. Estimates are for a 13% earnings gain to $1.68 EPS and a 24% sales gain to $3.4 billion. This retailer’s stock price is up 13% so far in 2013.

Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) will also give us the first real look at auto sale earnings. The car dealer is expected to report earnings of $0.46 EPS on a 10% gain in sales to $2.73 billion. Carmax shares are up 10% so far in 2013.

Also Read: 19 Stocks Expected to Rise 50% to 100%

J B Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) will lead the transportation sector earnings with its report on Thursday. The trucker is not always a true proxy, but investors will try to garner what it means for trucking players, then perhaps for rail players, and perhaps even air freight shippers. Estimates are $0.64 EPS on a gain of almost 11% in revenues to $1.29 billion. Just keep in mind that this stock is up a sharp 22% so far in 2013.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) will report earnings Wednesday and will lead the dollar store chains ahead. Due to a sharp drop right after the first of the year, this stock is down about 6.5% so far in 2013. The dollar store owner and operator is expected to report earnings of $1.23 EPS and a 17% sales gain to $2.89 billion.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) will report earnings on Friday morning. The bank with the fortress balance sheet is expected to report earnings of $1.38 EPS but revenue is expected to be down 5% at $25.96 billion. Book value is $51.30 per share and shares are up just a hair under 10% so far this year despite shares pulling back 6% from the fresh highs.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is also reporting Friday morning and its shares have pulled back about 4% off their highs, but this remains the safest of the big safest banks in America and its stock is still up almost 10% so far in 2013. Estimates are $0.88 EPS on expected flat revenue of $21.58 billion. Wells Fargo trades above its book value.

Filed under: Active Trader, Calendar, Currency, Earnings, Economy, International Markets Tagged: AA, BBBY, FDO, featured, JBHT, JPM, KMX, WFC

Top Stock Picks from the Oppenheimer Institutional Portfolio (GE, MSFT, HRB, TPX, PBH, KMX, ETP, NFLX, VPRT, BBRY, CREE)

Lee Jackson — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:00:52 +0000

Most Wall St. firms are divided by the unit that calls on the retail or high net worth client, and the unit that calls on institutional clients. They both generally benefit from the research departments work. Typically, the retail client is bombarded with structured packaged products and MLP secondary stock issuance and advised to let “professionals” do the stock picking for them. Institutional clients are deluged with piles of research, strategy and analytics so they can make up their own minds about which stocks to pick.

We thought our readers would like to have the opportunity to get a look at the list of names that are the highlighted institutional portfolio stocks from Oppenheimer for April. The interesting difference, when comparing this to a typical bulge bracket list of stocks to buy, is that the usual mega cap blue chip names are missing. Institutional investors do not need another report on General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) or Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). They are looking for names with less coverage and more upside.

Most importantly, many institutions are looking for screened stock analytics and statistics that show positive breadth, alpha momentum and top quartile positioning in their respective universe. The Oppenheimer stocks exhibit all of those traits.

The following are the “favorable” institutional portfolio stocks from Oppenheimer.

Given the approaching tax deadline, H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) may be a timely name to look at. It typically does most of its business in the first half of the calendar year, the Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is $28.50.

The maker of comfortable and expensive beds and cushions, Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) is on the institutional list. In the first quarter, institutions and hedge funds bought 7 million shares of the stock, which represents almost 15% of the company’s stock float. The Wall St. consensus price target is $51.50.

With well-known, over-the-counter health products like Clear Eyes, Ludens and PediaCare in its portfolio, Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PBH) is an Oppenheimer favorite. With numerous health care and household cleaning products to drive revenue, Prestige Brands could be a solid portfolio holding. The consensus estimate is $26.

Hitting 52-week highs as car sales have exploded, mega auto dealer CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) grabs the right of way on the list. With sales coming from the lucrative used or “preowned” category, CarMax has excelled at generating consistent pricing to compete with branded auto dealerships. The consensus price target is $42.

Natural gas MLP Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) is a surprise name on the Oppenheimer list. It is growing fast in the natural gas midstream, and intrastate transportation and storage businesses in the United States, and the stock pays investors a solid 7.10% quarterly distribution. The consensus price target is $52.

Entertainment content provider Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) has had investors on a wild ride over the past two years. Trading above $300, falling to below $60 and back to almost $200 is the epitome of volatility. Timing and nerves of steel may be the critical components here. The consensus price target for the stock is $131. That is far below its current trading level.

Based in the Netherlands, Vistaprint N.V. (NASDAQ: VPRT) provides both businesses and customers at home with a wide variety of office products and stationery. A beneficiary of the improving economy, this solid, if not boring stock has a consensus price target of $33.50.

Controversial hero-to-zero stock BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) makes the list. With the company’s last-ditch effort to revive its smartphone business, the stock may need a transformation. The consensus estimate for this volatile name is not posted at this time.

Speaking of volatility, the final pick, light emitting diode (LED) manufacturer Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), has a seat at the Oppenheimer favorable table. It has additional revenue coming from its semiconductor materials business, and the stock often takes a hit anytime the “green” stocks are in trouble. The consensus price target for Cree is $47.82.

Individuals that get a look at what institutions see are not necessarily bound for investing glory. However, a glimpse into the names that have positive metrics beyond the usual earnings and anecdotal data may add value when deciding on which names fit into a personal portfolio.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, Insider Activity, Value Investing Tagged: BBRY, CREE, ETP, GE, HRB, KMX, MSFT, NFLX, PBH, TPX, VPRT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — December 20, 2012: Markets Open Mixed, Climb at Close (FCX, BLK, ABT, SAM, LNCO, BBBY, JBL, PAYX, KMX, CCL, CAG, DFS, KBH, RAD, SCHL, NKE, RHT, RIMM, WAG, NYX, ICE, ELOQ, ORCL, MDRX, WGO)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 21:06:01 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened flat to higher again this morning following the third revision to U.S. GDP growth in the third quarter and the report on new claims for unemployment benefits (more coverage here). Growth rose to 3.1%, but the deflator was unchanged at 2.7%. In Europe, Germany’s producer price index dropped 0.1% in December, better than the expected 0.2% decline. Retail sales were down 1% in Italy, but unchanged in the U.K. In Asia, the Bank of Japan increased its stimulus by 10 trillion yen (about $110 billion) and left its key interest rate at 1%. The central bank is also raising Japan’s inflation target from 1% to 2%. In the U.S., existing home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million and the FHFA house price index rose 0.5%, both signs of a continuing recovery in housing (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.02% at 79.249. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.7% at 644.73, with commodities prices mostly lower again today. WTI crude oil closed up fractionally today, at $90.01 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.2% at $110.17 a barrel. Natural gas is up 3.8% today at about $3.45 per thousand cubic feet following the EIA report on gas storage inventories (more coverage here). Gold settled down 1.3% today at $1,645.90 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 60 points to 13,311.72 (0.45%), the NASDAQ rose about 6 points (0.20%) to 3,050.39, and the S&P 500 rose 0.55% or nearly 8 points to 1,442.69.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) started as ‘overweight’ at J.P. Morgan; Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) started as ‘outperform’ at William Blair; Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM) started as ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; and LinnCo (NASDAQ: LNCO) started as ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in the following price change as of the last half hour of trading today: Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) is down 6.8% at $56.19 after posting a new 52-week low of $54.33 earlier today; Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) is up 8.1% at $20.07; Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is down 2% at $32.38; Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is up 8.9% at $37.94 after posting a new 52-week high of $38.24 earlier today; Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) is down 5.3% at $36.98; ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is up 0.6% at $30.13 after posting a new 52-week high of $30.86 earlier today (more coverage here); Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is down 3.8% at $38.26 (more coverage here); KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is down 6.9% at $15.52 (more coverage here); Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) is up 19.7% at $1.25; and Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL) is down 1.5% at $28.85.

After markets close today and before they open on Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM), and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) is up 33.8% at $32.19 after posting a new 52-week high of $33.38 earlier today. The owner of the NYSE is being acquired by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE). More coverage here.

Eloqua Inc. (NASDAQ: ELOQ) is up 31.6% at $23.58. The business application software firm is being acquired by Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) for $871 million.

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) is down 14.3% at $9.15. The medical records software firm fired its CEO and terminated its search for a buyer.

Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO) is up 14.5% at $16.12 after posting a new 52-week high of $16.42 earlier today. The recreational vehicle maker beat profit and revenue estimates handily this morning.

Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
8:30 a.m. – Personal income and spending
8:30 a.m. – Chicago Fed national activity index
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABT, BBBY, BLK, CAG, CCL, DFS, ELOQ, FCX, ICE, JBL, KBH, KMX, LNCO, MDRX, NKE, NYX, ORCL, PAYX, RAD, RHT, RIMM, SAM, SCHL, WAG, WGO

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — December 19, 2012: Markets Open Mixed, Slide to a Close (C, SWHC, SD, ONXX, PNRA, ORCL, FDX, GIS, NAV, BBBY, JBL, PAYX, KMX, CCL, CAG, DFS, KBH, RAD, SCHL, GM, STP, CSIQ, LDK, THQI, ONTY)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:03:19 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened flat to higher this morning but the good vibe didn’t last long. In Europe, the Bank of England made no changes either to interest rates or its bond buying program. Germany’s IFO business climate index rose a bit more than expected and industrial production in Italy was unchanged while Spanish production rose sharply — both readings were better than expected. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose above 10,000 for the first time since April as the yen continued to fall ahead of tomorrow’s decision from the Bank of Japan on whether or not to add more stimulus to the Japanese economy. Housing starts were lower than expected in the U.S. in November, but new building permits increased (more coverage here). News on the fiscal cliff negotiations took a turn south today, with a sure-to-be-ignored-by-the-President-and-Senate vote in the Republican-controlled House on a proposal dubbed ‘Plan B.’

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.10% at 79.283. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.5% at 640.18, with commodities prices mostly lower again today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.8% today, at $89.51 a barrel following today’s report on inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 1.4% at $110.37 a barrel. Natural gas is down 2.8% today at about $3.32 per thousand cubic feet. Gold settled down 0.2% today at $1,667.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 99 points to 13,251.90 (-0.74%), the NASDAQ fell about 10 points (-0.33%) to 3,044.36, and the S&P 500 fell -0.76% or about 11 points to 1,435.80.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) raised to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley; Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) cut to ‘neutral’ at Cowen; SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) started as ‘buy’ at UBS; and Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wedbush.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in the following price change as of the last half hour of trading today: Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) is up 4.2% at $34.27 after posting a new 52-week high of $34.35 earlier today (more coverage here); FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) is up 1.5% at $93.73 (more coverage here); General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) is down 1.2% at $41.29 (more coverage here); and Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) is down 8.8% at $20.83 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD), and Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up 7.1% at $27.30. The automaker is buying 200 million of its shares from the U.S.Treasury and has a plan to acquire the remaining 300 million. More coverage here.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is up 15.9% at $1.24. The solar panel maker is benefiting from a new policy statement from the Chinese government, which claims that the government will “reform” the industry by encouraging mergers and acquisitions, and by banning local governments from propping up local favorites with loans. Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) and LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) are both up more than 10% today.

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is down 71.7% at $0.39 after posting a new 52-week low of $0.34 earlier today. The video game company filed for bankruptcy today and shares were halted briefly. More coverage here.

Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) is down 52.9% at $2.12 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.71 earlier today. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company failed to hit targets with its late-stage lung-cancer drug study.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – GDP
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Corporate profits
10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
10:00 a.m. – FHFA house price index
10:00 a.m. – Leading economic indicators
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – 5-year TIPS auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: BBBY, C, CAG, CCL, CSIQ, DFS, FDX, GIS, GM, JBL, KBH, KMX, LDK, NAV, ONTY, ONXX, ORCL, PAYX, PNRA, RAD, SCHL, SD, STP, SWHC, THQI

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 29, 2012: Markets Hold onto Modest Gains (NTAP, LNCO, IACI, KMX, CREE, ARO, GES, TIVO, WDAY, BKS, KR, RY, TIF, AVGO, OVTI, YOKU, ZUMZ, SOL, WWAV, RIMM, BLOX, KSS)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:05:44 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning after the weekly report on new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in lower than expected (more coverage here) and the second estimate of GDP indicated growth of 2.7% (more coverage here). In Asia, markets were generally higher on comments yesterday that negotiations on a solution the U.S. fiscal cliff were making progress. Shanghai was the exception, posting its lowest close in nearly four years. In Europe, Germany reported a 6.9% unemployment rate, as expected, (more coverage here) and a survey of eurozone business and consumer sentiment came in higher than expected. U.S. pending home sales rose sharply (more coverage here), but November same-store sales were disappointing (more coverage here). Equities dipped smartly when House Speaker Boehner denied that “substantive progress” had been made on fiscal cliff talks.

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.2% at 80.203. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.5% at 642.59, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.8% today, at $88.07 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 1% at $110.60 a barrel. Natural gas is down nearly 4% today at about $3.65 per thousand cubic feet, following the weekly storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled up 0.6% today at $1,727.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 37 points to 13,021.82 (0.28%), the NASDAQ rose more than 20 points (0.68%) to 3,012.03, and the S&P 500 rose 0.43% or about 6 points to 1,415.97.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) started as ‘underperform’ at CLSA; LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO) started as ‘buy’ at Citi; IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $42 at Goldman Sachs; and Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.

Earnings reports of interest since U.S. markets closed last night have resulted in price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is down 5.1% at $13.41 (more coverage here); Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) is up 2.3% at $25.84; Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is up 6.5% at $11.56; Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) is down 2.8% at $51.68; Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is 12.1% at $14.11 (more coverage here); Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is up 5% at $26.31 after posting a new 52-week high of $26.40 earlier today (more coverage here); Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is up 0.4% at $59.05; and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is down 7% at $59.30 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up 3% at $11.43. The smartphone maker continues to gather upgrades from analysts. More coverage here.

InfoBlox Inc. (NASDAQ: BLOX) is up 32.3% at $18.45. The automated network control maker handily beat expectations and raises guidance. More coverage here.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down 10.9% at $45.56. The retailer posted a big decline in November same-store sales and third quarter revenues did not meet expectations..

Stay tuned for Friday. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and spending
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ARO, AVGO, BKS, BLOX, CREE, GES, IACI, KMX, KR, KSS, LNCO, NTAP, OVTI, RIMM, RY, SOL, TIF, TIVO, WDAY, WWAV, YOKU, ZUMZ

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALTR, ADI, AVB, BIIB, KMX, CREE, EMC, IACI, LNCO, LINE, MYL, NTAP, NXPI, PMT, RIMM, RIGL, TASR, TKR, VMW, XLNX)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:15:51 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall St. research calls this Thursday.

Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) started at Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) reiterated Buy but raised target to $46 at Argus.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB) raised to Market Perform at BMO.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) reiterated Buy and raised target to $160 at Argus.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) raised to Buy with $42 target at Goldman Sachs.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) started as Outperform at CLSA.

IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO) started as Buy at Citi.

Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) resumed with Buy rating at Citi

Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) reiterated Buy but raised 2012/2013 earnings estimates at Argus.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) started as Underperform at CLSA.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) started as Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) reiterated Outperform with $27 target at Credit Suisse.

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs (FULL CALL SUMMARY).

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL) started as Neutral at UBS.

TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR) cut to Hold at Jefferies.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) started as Buy at CLSA.

Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) started at Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ADI, ALTR, AVB, BIIB, CREE, EMC, IACI, KMX, LINE, LNCO, MYL, NTAP, NXPI, PMT, RIGL, RIMM, TASR, TKR, VMW, XLNX

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — October 26, 2012: Markets Wiggle Higher Finally (AAPL, P, PSX, KMX, CME, RCL, AMZN, BYI, CLWR, CSTR, HLS, CMCSA, KKR, MRK, OSK, WY, PBR, BKW, HRS, L, LUFK, EDU, PCG, SNH, ACI, DV, CTCT)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:04:29 +0000

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened flat this morning following a disappointing quarterly report from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) last night (more coverage here) which weighed on Asian tech stocks particularly. The Bank of Japan is apparently still considering more stimulus, which helped soften the drop somewhat. In Europe Spain reported an unemployment rate of 25% (more coverage here), and S&P lowered its economic risk score on France citing exposure at the country’s banks to a longer recession in the eurozone. The advance U.S. GDP growth number came in at 2% this morning, in line with expectations (more coverage here) and the consumer sentiment index dropped slightly but there was some good news to be had from today’s numbers (more coverage here). Equities finished mixed today, with slight gains for the DJIA and the Nasdaq and a slight loss for the S&P 500.

The U.S. dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.03% at 80.068. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 637.47, with commodities prices mostly lower again today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% today, at $86.28 a barrel, but the price fell 4% for the week. Brent crude trades up 1% at $109.55 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.3% today at about $3.39 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,711.90 an ounce, down less than 0.1% for the day and ended the week off 0.7%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 4 points to 13,107.37 (0.03%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 2 points (0.06%) to 2,987.95, and the S&P 500 fell -0.07% or about 1 point to 1,411.95.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) cut to ‘neutral’ at HSBC; Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) raised to ‘outperform’ at Raymond James; and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is down 0.7% at $605.31 (more coverage here); Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is up 6% at $236.27 (more coverage here); Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI) is up 5.6% at $49.88 after posting a new 52-week high today of $51.16; Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 4.2% at $1.88 (more coverage here); Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is up 4.1% at $45.01; Healthsouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS) is up 0.9% at $22.85; Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 3.6% at $37.66 after posting a new 52-week high of $37.78 earlier today (more coverage here); KKR & Co. LP (NYSE: KKR) is down 0.9% at $14.71; Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is down fractionally at $46.28 (more coverage here); Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) is up 0.8% at $29.98 (more coverage here); and Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is up 0.3% at $27.38 (more coverage here).

Before markets open on Monday we are scheduled to hear from Petroleo Brasileiro SA, aka Petrobras, (NYSE: PBR), Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW), Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS), Loews Corp. (NYSE: L), Lufkin Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LUFK), New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU), PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG), and Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is up 10.5% at $8.07. The coal miner reported sharply better results than expected this morning. More coverage here.

DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV) is up 24.9% at $26.01. The for-profit education company posted better than expected results and, more important, enrollment gains in some of its programs.

Constant Contact Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) is down 29.8% at $11.96 after posting a new 52-week low of $11.90 earlier today. The online marketing provider lowered guidance after posting decent results last night.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, ACI, AMZN, BKW, BYI, CLWR, CMCSA, CME, CSTR, CTCT, DV, EDU, HLS, HRS, KKR, KMX, L, LUFK, MRK, OSK, P, PBR, PCG, PSX, RCL, SNH, WY